Be kind and gentle but firm. Remember it is a new experience and should be a good one. You have to teach them what you want and let them know when they are doing it right. If you start and then stop, all you have taught the puppy is that if I act up, she will stop doing this to me. I can not tell you how many dogs I have to muzzle because they start to get mean triing to get you to stop. If you are firm and there is a reward afterwards, you will be teaching the puppy that it is all a part of their lives and they will accept the proceedure more and more.

Your new puppy has been delivered to you freshly bathed; toenails trimmed,hair in ear canal removed and ears are fresh and clean smelling, face, feet and tail has been shaved.

Now all you have to do is learn the basics on how to care for the poodle coat. Before being bathed, the coat should be brushed out then combed from the skin all the way through the coat to make sure there is no tangles. Then you can use a mild puppy shampoo on him, make sure you don't get any water in the ears or soap in his eyes.Then you can rinse the puppy free of all the soap. Blow dry your puppy on a low setting while using your brush. A pin brush is preferred as a slicker brush will tear and damage the coat

It is advisable to brush your puppy out every second day or so. He will get use to being groomed and you will prevent the coat from matting up. Once that starts, the groomer may have to strip the coat right off. It is painful for the dog when the coat gets matted. It just keeps getting tighter as it grows, if it gets wet, it gets worse. There is no excuse for any poodle to have to be matted.

Clipping and scissoring should be left to the professional at first. Many people do learn how to groom their own poodle. You must be sure that you remain calm and not make the experience a bad one. It can ruin a dog to have someone trying to force the issue, or get frustrated and start screaming at them. It should be a pleasant experience for him. A good groomer can help the puppy to accept the grooming as just part of life.

Ears should be cleaned out weekly. All you have to do is pull the hair out of the canal with your fingers. Then wipe out the ear with a cotton ball moistened with a ear cleaner that your veterinarian or groomer recommends.

Toe nails can be done every couple of weeks. Take only the tip of the nail or you might cut too short causing the nail to bleed. There is a vein in the nail that does recede as the toe nail is clipped back but if cut into the dog will not forget the pain of it. White toe nails are much easier to clip as you can see the vein and where it ends. There is now a strip that you can buy to put on the end of the nail. It turns a different color showing you how far you can safely cut. It reacts to the heat of the vein in the nail to aide in cutting dark colored nails. If you do cut too short, you can usually pack the nail with flour and the bleeding will stop. There is also a product called

Quick Stop that you can use to stop the bleeding.

No matter what you do in the way of grooming make sure you are kind. Teach your puppy to lay quietly while being brushed. Use treats and talk to him to let him know he is being good. Do not do anything to frighten your puppy. Be gentle but firm. Don't be afraid to ask your breeder, groomer or veterinarian any questions.

My views on "Doodles"

Many people are now trying to improve on the poodle. In my opinion, it can not be done. First of all poodles are adorable and highly intelligent. Secondly, the poodle "is" non-shedding (they have hair and not fur) and if you do not like the traditional clips that poodles are known for, a groomer can clip the dog in the manner that you would prefer. If you have allergies to dogs, a lot of people find that they haven't a problem with the poodle. The so called designer dogs that are being bred "doodles" are not guaranteed not to shed. In most cases you will pay more for a "doodle" than a pure bred registered poodle.

The doodle was originally a "experiment", and they found that the offspring of the lab and poodle was a failure to what they were attempting to do.

If there was only people that knew what they were doing and only breeding purebred registered dogs that have been tested for genetic disorders, there would not be as many unwanted dogs, being put to sleep. Even in no-kill shelters, if over-burdened, have been known to sell the dogs to scientific labs for testing. Then there has been proof that euthanized animals at vet clinics have found their way back into the food chain, made into dog food.

Some people have left the purebred world (being forced out by the CKC or SPCA) or just on their own because that someone seen as a easy way to make alot of money very fast. Like the maltipoo or any kind of poodle crosses, they are just that. Nothing purebred about them and it is amazing to me that there are so many people willing to pay thousands of dollars for a dog that has no pedigree, nothing to indicate what it will turn out like. I personally feel it is a fad and will not last.

The shelters will soon be full of big hairy matted dogs looking for new homes. I think it is a real shame. But then, that's just me.

grooming your poodle puppy

If you have plans of grooming your own poodle, here are some of the tools that you will need:

First you would need a good metal comb , they have spaces between the teeth. (called a poodle comb) They are about $25.00

Then a good pin brush, and a good slicker brush.

Approx $10-$15.00 each

The clippers that I have always used have been Oster professional clippers. $150.00 and up.

They should last the life of your dog as long as you don't drop and break them. They come with a blade that leaves the coat very short, usually used for face,feet and belly.

You would want to buy a couple of other blades, #5, #7 and maybe #4. These blades will cut the coat to a manageable length. Clip with the coat, the way it lays on the body. If you clip against the grain, it will result in a shorter clip than you may want.

These blades can run from $25-$40.00 depending upon where you shop. Always make sure there is no matts or tangles and the dog is clean and blown dry before attempting to clip the dog.

Clipping a dirty dog will dull your blades and you will then have to find someone to sharpen them.

Not just anyone can sharpen them it is a specialty sharpening place you would be looking for. Sharpening is about $5-$8.00 per blade.

A good pair of scissors would be from $25 up. That you would never use on anything but the dogs coat.

I advise you to have your dog groomed professionally until they get use to it before you tackle it on your own. Don't even bother with the cutting of the coat if you have no patience. This is not something you want to screw up and have as a bad experience for the dog, He will remember, and it would always be hard to groom if you are impatient with him.

I can only give you the basics on how to care for the coat.

There are lots of books out there for the instruction of clipping your puppy or adult dog. Some good, some bad. If you have any questions that I could answer, you could email me. I am more than happy to help answer any questions that you may have.